The present invention relates to a tilt-up handle for an outboard motor that transfers outside air into an engine cover. The engine cover houses an engine.
FIG. 13 is a side view of a typical outboard motor, and FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of an upper cover segment of an engine cover of a typical outboard motor.
An outboard motor 1, as shown in FIG. 13, includes a driving-shaft housing 4 and a gear case 5 which connects to the bottom of an engine cover 3 that can house an engine such as a water-cooled four-cycle engine 2.
The engine cover 3 is divided vertically into two segments, an upper cover 3a and a lower cover 3b. A tilt-up-handle mounting portion 3c, as shown in FIG. 14, is formed as a concave cut-out in the upper rear portion of the upper cover 3a. An outside-air intake path 3cxe2x80x2 extends vertically through this rear portion of the upper cover 3a. A tilt-up handle 8 with a louver 7 is mounted at a rear opening 6 in the tilt-up-handle mounting portion 3c. This opening opens toward the rear in a boat traveling in direction xcex2.
The surface of the tilt-up handle 8 described above is continuous with and does not protrude from the surface of the engine cover 3. The louver 7 and air intakes 7a and 7b formed in the tilt-up handle 8 point slightly upward so that water drops and mist can easily enter the tilt-up handle 8 through the air intakes 7a and 7b. Typical louver 7 designs attempted to prevent water drops and mist from entering the engine cover 3 by reducing the aperture size of the air intakes 7a and 7b and by placing the intake port 3cxe2x80x3 of the outside-air intake path 3cxe2x80x2 at a position higher in the engine cover 3 than the position of the louver 7.
However, reducing the aperture size of the air intakes 7a and 7b of the louver 7 decreases the amount of outside air taken into the engine cover 3, thereby risking insufficient air intake. Furthermore, reducing the aperture size will cause the intake speed of outside air to increase, which, in turn, will make it easier for mist to enter the engine cover 3.
The amount of outside air taken into the engine cover 3 will also decrease when the height of the intake port 3cxe2x80x3 of the outside-air intake path 3cxe2x80x2 is raised above the louver 7, thereby again risking an insufficiency in air intake similar to that described above.
Installation of a structure for separating water drops and the like from intake air in the tilt-up handle 8 would make the configuration of the tilt-up handle 8 complex, difficult to machine, and costly.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a simple tilt-up handle for an outboard motor that prevents water drops and mist from entering the engine cover.
The present invention provides a tilt-up handle for an outboard motor positioned in the upper rear of an engine cover. The tilt-up handle includes an outside-air inlet opening rearwardly from the traveling direction of a boat xcex2. The outside-air inlet protrudes rearwardly from a rear wall of the engine cover so as to be substantially (i.e., at least partially) aligned with an imaginary vertical line extending from the rear wall of the engine cover when viewed in profile. Water drops falling along the surface of the engine cover or the tilt-up handle will fall along the rear wall of the engine cover and not near the outside-air inlet.
This structure is simple to manufacture, prevents water drops from entering the engine cover, and prevents water drops from producing a mist by splashing near the outside-air inlet.
An upper wall of the tilt-up handle can be formed to bulge upward gradually from the upper wall of the engine over in the boat traveling direction xcex2. This increases the internal volume of the tilt-up handle without increasing the size of the engine cover.
Outside air flows in from the lower diagonal side of a louver which is mounted at the outside-air inlet and opens toward the rear in the boat traveling direction xcex2. This makes it possible to control the air flow from the outside easily and effectively to prevent water drops from entering the engine cover.
The louver can be provided with an intake-port forming surface pointing diagonally downward toward the rear. This configuration prevents water drops from falling along the intake-port forming surface into the louver and effectively prevents water drops from entering the engine cover.
An upper end of the intake-port forming surface can protrude rearwardly in the boat traveling direction xcex2 to form a shape resembling eaves. The eaves-shaped upper end can also prevent water drops from contacting the intake-port forming surface.
A ventilation opening can be formed in at least one of the right and left sides of the tilt-up handle in which a ventilating fan can be provided. In this case, even if water drops and mist were taken into the tilt-up handle, they can be quickly discharged to the outside so that water drops and the like can be prevented from entering the engine cover.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.